CD-Laboratory for Chemical Engineering at High Temperatures

Fluidized Bed Conversion –

A Challenge for Simulation
Franz Winter

Institute of Chemical Engineering

CD-Laboratory for Chemical Engineering at High Temperatures

Fluidized Bed
Reactors

gas – solid contact

Grace et al. 1997

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CD-Laboratory for Chemical Engineering at High Temperatures

Circulating
Fluidized Bed
Reactors
complex
two-phase flow

Horio et al. 1997

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CD-Laboratory for Chemical Engineering at High Temperatures

Fluidized Bed
Boilers

Kaiser et al. 2004

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CD-Laboratory for Chemical Engineering at High Temperatures

Solid Fuel Combustion complex chemistry

200 4

160
3

120
NO N2O
2
Char Combustion
HCN CO2
80

1
40

0 0
0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200 1400 1600 1800 2000
time [s]

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CD-Laboratory for Chemical Engineering at High Temperatures

Solid Fuel Combustion complex chemistry

NCO NO
hom. hom.
hom. N2O
HCN N2O hom.
NO N2O
NO
hom. hom.
hom. hom.
TAR - N hom. NH3 N2
hom.
hom.
het.
VOLATILE - N2O
N Char Surface
NO
het. NO
CHAR - N hom.
hom.
HCN
hom.
NCO hom.
FUEL - N hom. hom.

NH3

Institute of Chemical Engineering

CD-Laboratory for Chemical Engineering at High Temperatures

Solid Fuel Combustion CO oxidation - main reactions

• CO – Oxidation:
– Initiation
H2O = OH + H
O2 + M = 2O+M
– Propagation
CO + OH = CO2 + H
– chain
H + O2 = OH + O
O + H2O = 2 OH
– Termination
CO + O = CO2
H + O2 + M = HO2 + M

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CD-Laboratory for Chemical Engineering at High Temperatures

CH4
+O, +H, +OH

Solid Fuel +O
+H

Combustion CH3O
+HO2
CH3
+H
+O +OH

CH4 oxidation CH2O C2H6

+O
CH2(S)

reaction paths +O, +H, +OH

+O2
+H +O2 +N2
+H
+O

HCO C2H5 CH CH2

+O

+O2
+O2
+O2

+O2

CH2CHO

CO C2H4

+OH +O
CH2CO
+O2

CO2 C2H3
+H +H
+O2

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CD-Laboratory for Chemical Engineering at High Temperatures

Chemistry – problems with different time scales

time scales
for chemical reactions
(10-10s to >1s )

Warnatz et al. 2001

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CD-Laboratory for Chemical Engineering at High Temperatures

Chemistry – problems with different time scales

are there two or more different
scales (time) of the
independent variable on which
the dependent variables are
changing:

=> stiffness occures.

example of an instability encountered in integrating a stiff equation

(schematic).
=> implicit integration methods
Press et al. 1992

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CD-Laboratory for Chemical Engineering at High Temperatures

Example: CFD Model for Ash Deposition

Aim: Prediction
of the Location of
Ash Deposition

Müller et al. 2003,

17-FBC

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CD-Laboratory for Chemical Engineering at High Temperatures

Example: CFD Model for Ash Deposition

- Turbulence: k-ε model

- Radiative heat transfer: discrete ordinate model

- Turbulence chemistry interaction: Eddy-Dissipation

Combustion Model

- Software: Fluent

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CD-Laboratory for Chemical Engineering at High Temperatures

Example: CFD Model for Ash Deposition

Chemistry

• 4-Step Approach:

CxHyOz + aO2 = bCO + cH2 + dH2O

CxHyOz + eH2O= fCO + gH2 + hH2O
H2 + 0.5O2 = H2O
CO + H2O = CO2 + H2

Institute of Chemical Engineering

CD-Laboratory for Chemical Engineering at High Temperatures

Example:
CFD Model for
Ash Deposition

Meshing:
structured - unstructured

Institute of Chemical Engineering

CD-Laboratory for Chemical Engineering at High Temperatures

Example: CFD Model for Ash Deposition

Mass flows: bed and freeboard,
fuel split

Institute of Chemical Engineering

CD-Laboratory for Chemical Engineering at High Temperatures

Example: CFD Model for Ash Deposition

CO
Distribution

Institute of Chemical Engineering

CD-Laboratory for Chemical Engineering at High Temperatures

Example: CFD Model for Ash Deposition

Temperature
Distribution

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CD-Laboratory for Chemical Engineering at High Temperatures

Example: CFD Model for Ash Deposition

Ash Particle
Hitting Maps

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CD-Laboratory for Chemical Engineering at High Temperatures

Example: Semi-Empirical Models

Aims:
- Prediction of NO Emissions
- Effect of Particle Size

Kallio et al. 2004,

11-Fluidization

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Example:
Semi-Empirical Models

- Flow and mixing simplified

- Zones defined

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CD-Laboratory for Chemical Engineering at High Temperatures

Example: Semi-Empirical Models

NO Profiles
comparison with
measurements

Different models
considered:
A – Attrition, SF –
Sec. Fragmentation

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CD-Laboratory for Chemical Engineering at High Temperatures

Example: CFD Simulation of a Single Bubble

Visual
observations of
bubble flow

cold conditions
sand bed

Peirano et al. 2002,

Powder Technology

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CD-Laboratory for Chemical Engineering at High Temperatures

Example: CFD Simulation of a Single Bubble

Eulerian model:

- gas-phase (continuous phase):

Turbulence: k-ε model

- particle-phase (discrete phase):

kinetic theory of granular flow

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CD-Laboratory for Chemical Engineering at High Temperatures

Example: CFD Simulation of a Single Bubble

Calculation time:

- 500 hours

on a CRAY 90 for 20 s of real time with 2.3x105 nodes

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CD-Laboratory for Chemical Engineering at High Temperatures

Example: CFD Simulation of a Single Bubble

Calculated
particle volume
fraction

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CD-Laboratory for Chemical Engineering at High Temperatures

Example: CFD Simulation of a Single Bubble

Calculated and
measured
pressure spectra

for high pressure

drop distributer

Institute of Chemical Engineering

CD-Laboratory for Chemical Engineering at High Temperatures

Example: CFD Simulation of a Single Bubble

Calculated and
measured
pressure spectra

for low pressure

drop distributer

Institute of Chemical Engineering

CD-Laboratory for Chemical Engineering at High Temperatures

Example: CFD Simulation of a Single Bubble

Time averaged
gas velocity field

for low pressure

drop distributer

Institute of Chemical Engineering

CD-Laboratory for Chemical Engineering at High Temperatures

Conclusions

• The current status is:

- CFD simulation of two-phase flow is very limited
- Flow is simplified with semi-empirical zone models
- Chemistry is simplified, reduced models are used
- Heat transfer is simplified based on Nusselt number

Institute of Chemical Engineering

CD-Laboratory for Chemical Engineering at High Temperatures

Conclusions

• Future challenges are:

- Simulation of full chemistry
- Development of reduced mechanisms
- CFD simulation of two-phase flow
- Heat transfer models (based on local flow conditions)

Institute of Chemical Engineering

CD-Laboratory for Chemical Engineering at High Temperatures

Thank you for your attention!

Institute of Chemical Engineering

CD-Laboratory for Chemical Engineering at High Temperatures

Conference on
Small-scale Combustion
18-20 November 2004, Vienna
www.semaco.co.at/dvv

Institute of Chemical Engineering